Through Hope and Sanity
by Shinigami 42-42-564
Summary: Biofreak Sequal. Nothing's been the same. The creatures are getting more broad, the sunlight is lessening, trust is falling, hope is at brink, and sanity is currupted. Now, Sakura is in a fight for herself as well as for Syaoran before it's too late.
1. Snap out of it, Sakura

**Summary: **Since the bridge incident, nothing's been the same. The creatures are getting more broad, the sunlight is lessening, trust is falling, hope is at brink, and sanity is corrupted. Not only is Sakura in a fight to save herself, but also a fight to save the person she loves. It's almost too late.

**a/n:** Sorry I didn't update like I said I would a few months back. But no excuses, here's the chapter and I hope you all enjoy! It's my entire fault for promising an update and not meeting it.

The style of this story is going to be a bit different. I'm not usually a fan of this, but I feel like because what I did to Syaoran, it's kind of a "necessity" for me to do this in order to keep the story original in Syaoran's sense, but at the same time, change it in order to fulfill the story's enjoyment due to the circumstances I put the characters in.

**Genre:** Romance, Tragic, Survival, Horror  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> Man if only I did…  
><strong>Rating:<strong> T – Violence  
><strong>Tagline:<strong> _The conclusion to how it all ends, is how it all began._

**Through Hope and Sanity  
><strong>By: Shinigami 42-42-564  
>…<strong>Chapter One…<br>**Snap Out of It, Sakura!

When my eyes opened, the sky I looked into scaled grey with puffs of white—but they weren't clouds. The image wasn't necessarily dull like any other grey sky, but it had a hint of peace and beauty to it. I didn't know exactly why, but that's how I felt at the very least. Sitting up straight, a sting of pang shot down my back, making me topple over to the side. After it faded, I got up to my feet and a strange looking brown puppy appeared in front of me out of nowhere—literally.

It sniffed, barked, and then started walking away. Just before it disappeared into a random wall of greyness, it turned around and barked back; I followed it, because that's what you do when a dog turns around and barks are you.

Right?

When all this greyness faded, I found myself suddenly—again, literally—in the middle of a wonderful spring area. The sun shunned intensely bright, not too hot but also warm enough to satisfy. There were mountains glazing across the horizon for as far as I could see. On the base of the picture-perfect scene was green grass and large hot springs with stones in the circumference it.

The dog trotted over a prairie hill in which was shrouded in flowers of all sorts. Clueless about everything around me, I followed. When I reached the peak of the hill, my eyes lit up as the sight I saw.

**Through Hope and Sanity**

The night's moon was dim. The radius of light was only half a mile, just darkening as it reached the woods. The smell of evil usually leaked in the air, but this time it wept of flying dew for it had just rained. The stars were none, not even a single spec event though the sky was clear of clouds.

Though it was wet, Sakura sat herself on the roof of a barn they had found in the opening just miles off the border of Tokyo; her mind, half dead and half wandering around in a world she didn't even know and understand anymore. Only a couple days ago her world came crashing down. She didn't necessarily lose _everything_, but her value of one person was gone, and it might well be everything.

Knees up to the chin and arms around them, Sakura felt a thud to her side as Syaoran took a seat next to her. The hair on the back of her neck rose and her heart pounded faster. She turned away and thought to herself, _What am I feeling?_

"Hey," started Syaoran. "Is it usually this dark every night?" Sakura didn't answer. Already he began to feel uneasy. "Sakura-chan—"

Sakura restlessly shifted away and tried getting up, but she slipped under her feet and slid a couple feet down the roof. To save her fall, Syaoran quickly reacted and took hold of her wrist. Quickly, Sakura's nose flared and she yelled,

"Let go!"

Almost immediately Syaoran jerked back from his grip and flinched. "I—I'm sorry."

"Just leave me alone," said Sakura. Her voice almost drowned in tears that began to build. "I'm sorry, but I just need some more time to myself, please."

Syaoran sighed. Leave her alone? That's all he had been forced to do for the past couple days. But then again, maybe it was best. He had no memory of her, or anyone for that matter, so he was forced to blindly trust them. What other choice did he have? If he left them, he'd be wandering a world even more blinded—and if they were telling the truth about what lurks in the dark, he'd be dead.

No, Syaoran hadn't seen any of the so-called _freaks_ that they talked of yet, but he hadn't seen anyone else as well. Ever since they left the underground subway, everything else was lifeless.

When he climbed down the ladder and back to ground level, Tomoyo was preparing sandwiches from ingredients they had found the day before in an old rundown shop outside of Tokyo. Though the only thing they could find were veggie, it was better than nothing.

"Here," Tomoyo offered.

Syaoran sighed and took the handmade sandwich. "Thanks, but I don't think I'm in the mood to eat."

"Please try to," she replied. "I'm sure food is hard to come by now."

Syaoran thought about eating, but just set the sandwich on his lap and said, "I'll eat in a bit."

"I'm sorry . . . about Sakura-chan."

Another sigh whispered out of Syaoran, "I'd be sorry for myself too—for this _entire_ situation. I mean, waking up with a bunch of strangers, not even remembering much of what happened. Just . . . forced to believe that everything you guys say is true."

"Don't sweat it, kid," said Takashi.

"Easier said than done in my situation," reassured Syaoran. "But . . . how come you _two_ seem to be so calm with me? Everyone else seems to be completely negative towards me right now."

A surprised chuckle came from Tomoyo and she said, "Well, before that incident when you lost your memories, I haven't even known you for more than a day. So I guess you can say I have nothing to be negative about with you. I've known _this_ you more than _that_ you."

Syaoran cocked his head, "And you?" he pointed towards Takashi.

"Pretty much the same deal I guess. We've had a few conversations with each other, but that's about it," said Takashi.

"But don't worry," said Funata walking towards them with a rifle in hand. "It's not your fault—" Funata rose her rifle towards Syaoran, "—unless you're playing with us."

Syaoran flinched so hard that he dropped his sandwich. "No, please—I'm not!"

Funata lowered her rifle and took a seat on a haystack in between Takashi and Tomoyo. "Since we're at a calm now, I guess now would be the time to catch you up."

"You mean more about these _monster_ things that are supposedly out there?"

"No, not about them; there's nothing more you need to know—actually, there's nothing more that _we_ even know. But I meant as in catching up with what's happened to you up to this point. I believe we haven't been able to get to that yet since we've been traveling fast."

"Funata-san," started Takashi. "Are you surprised that we haven't run into any of them yet?"

Funata shook her head and then shrugged, "I honestly don't know what to think, Takashi-san." She turned back to Syaoran. "Anyways—"

It may have taken an hour, but the explanation was clear and easy to understand. Funata informed first on how the _end of the world_ started. Then told the story from the point where they had once met each other at a small market in a city called Tomoeda and how their goal was to get to her home in the mountains that lay just north of their current location—if hurried, it would only take a few more extra days.

"The Oku-Shirane, huh?" repeated Syaoran.

"You say that like you remember it," said Funata.

That gave Syaoran a jolt. He had never really thought about it. Though he didn't typically _remember_ the mountains, it seemed as if he knew what it was. He explained that to everyone.

"Of course," started Tomoyo. "He can't have forgotten _everything_ in this world. Basic landscape and features of this world should be obvious."

Syaoran turned back to the roof where Sakura was still sitting. A small frown stretched down his face and he began to feel an illness that he didn't quite understand. "Fiancé . . . so I had that kind of relationship with her. I guess that would explain the way she's acting."

Funata nodded. "I'll try talking to her again." that said, she walked over to Yukito, who had been sitting opposite the group by himself, and examined him as he read through his papers. "What are you doing?" she asked formally.

It took a long pause before Yukito said, "Looking back through my researches, trying to understand them better."

"You mean you don't understand them as it is?" mocked Funata.

Yukito gave her an evil eye and said, "Don't underestimate the situation. I fear Syaoran's _amnesia_ is more than just that."

"What do you mean?" Just then Funata caught an eye on Yukito sliding some sort of object—a videotape?—back into his backpack.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. It'll take far longer than just a couple hours of sitting down."

After a grief sigh, Funata nodded and continued her way to Sakura. She climbed a ladder and jumped her way through a hatch to the roof, landing softly and smoothly. Sakura sat just as she had been: legs to chest with arms around the knees.

"You know your cold will get worst if you keep staying out like this," said Funata.

Sakura, who hadn't even noticed Funata's arrival, turned for a look, but then turned her attention back to the dark trees that she couldn't even see. Funata came to sit next to her.

"You should come down. Everyone's getting worried about you."

Sakura turned away. "No thanks," she said.

Funata cocked her head. For the past couple days, Sakura had seemed to shut herself out from everyone else. Her reasons are understandable, but if this kept up, survival would be hard unless they left her—but that was one thing Funata would never do. Though the age between Sakura and her was high, the idea of literally _slapping_ her back to which she usually was is still there. But she held herself back. Vastly, all of a sudden, Funata became frustrated.

"Sakura-chan . . . I know it's hard—"

"Then why do you keep trying?" Sakura broke her off. After a quick moment of silence, Sakura turned to Funata with a leery eye, "Then why do you keep on trying? He's gone! The person who's been keeping me up on my feet ever since this whole thing started, he's gone—"

She had about enough. To break Sakura from her words, Funata had swung a palm across her face and knelt closer to her. "He's sitting right below you!" Sakura cupped her burning cheek. When she didn't answer, Funata began to regret slapping her. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan."

It took another moment, then Sakura said, "I just want to be alone . . ."

Funata got back up to her feet. She turned to leave, but said, "I know it's hard, for you now especially, but please don't give up on us—on Syaoran. He's lost his memory. He didn't ask for it. Deep inside, he's feeling just as hurt. You think you're hurt? You neglecting him more than helping him is worst. Right now, we don't need this. Even though he's lost his memories of us, of you, we still have to try our best to survive, and we can't unless we have _you_ back as well. Back when you disappeared during that storm, he tried his best to find you, and he did. For as long as we're still breathing, there's still hope, so try to find him too . . . we'll all help. The last thing we need is for you—any of us actually—to lose sanity. He didn't give up on _you_, so please do him a favor and don't give up on _him_."

Sakura didn't say anything. Instead, she dug her face into her knees even more. She could feel tears begin to run up the back of her eyes. This was now the first time after meeting Syaoran that she had cried without his comfort, without his chest, without his arms. She imagined him wrapping his arms around her, comforting her. She felt it just like it was real. But as the wind pushed and her hair blew thinly to the side, her tears sweeping out like shooting stars on her level, the warm feeling of his arms were gone, and she began to feel cold again.

Still, she didn't say anything, and Funata left the roof.

When she stumbled back to the first floor Tomoyo and Takashi were getting ready for bed. She met eyes with Takashi and he said, "Every day the sky just gets dark earlier and earlier."

"Eventually . . . there won't be a sun for days—even weeks," replied Funata.

"What will we do when that happens?" Tomoyo asked.

"Hopefully we're somewhere safe so we don't have to worry about it," said Funata.

Takashi nodded, "Hopefully." He repeated.

Funata noticed that Syaoran sat a few yards away on a batch of haystacks playing with his thumbs. His eyes drowned in confusion and fatigue. So much to handle in so little time, It almost seemed like they first time they met in the market. But this time, it was much harder—he didn't even know who he was for the most part and had to rely on what they told him.

"Syaoran, get some sleep," said Funata. He didn't answer back, but he got the message. Funata took her own bundle of hay and knocked out after putting out the fire from the circulized rocks that they had used to boil what water they had.

A cold breeze woke Funata. She guessed that it was maybe three hours or so later since she knocked out. The rest were still sleeping, Yukito had knocked out with papers under him, but there was still one person missing. Rubbing her eyes and yawning as she got up, Funata took a stretch for her arms and looked up at the hatch that led to the roof. "That kid . . ." she mumbled to herself. She made her climb and pulled herself back up onto the roof. An even colder win shot in her face. If she wasn't awake, she was now. "Saku—"

She wasn't there.

Funata scanned the roof quickly and jumped back down to the level under the roof. She scanned the ground, hoping that Sakura was sleeping somewhere in the dark. She was nowhere to be seen. Panic set in and Funata jumped to the ground level. She ran over to everyone and shook them awake.

"Wake up, Sakura's gone!"

Tomoyo sat up alarmed, Takashi grabbed his rifle, Yukito made his way over, leaving his papers and backpacks on the floor, and Syaoran woke in confusion.

"What do you mean?" asked Takashi.

"I can't dumb it down even further," said Funata. "Sakura's disappeared." She could see worry and fear in everyone's eyes, even Syaoran's. No one was supposed to leave by themselves.

**Through Hope and Sanity**

When Sakura heard the voices, she couldn't help but to follow. _Help me. It's me. Help. I love you._ The voices were the voices of Syaoran. It didn't make sense, for some reason, she didn't care. It wasn't just any Syaoran's voice, it was the _real_ Syaoran, but the one that lurked beneath her with the rest of them.

It was dark so she couldn't see. But the voices led her easily through the woods. The barn was now completely out of sight, but in the dark, so was everything else around her. Tracing her hands along the barks of trees, she felt herself leap over a fallen stud.

"Syaoran?" she called out, "Is that you?"

Through the darkness, the black began to illuminate; and through the illumination, a shadowy figure approached. His hair, medium shade of brown, his eyes, dark and beautiful, his skin, wonderfully tanned. How she saw all of this in the dark—she's seen them before.

"Syaoran?" Sakura reached out for him with a hand and he laced his over hers. His skin was soft and luscious. Immediately, she fell and collapsed onto his chest. "It's you."

He didn't say anything.

Sakura moved in closer, trying to see more clearer through the darkness. Cupping his cheeks into her hands, Sakura began to pull him in closer to her, pursed her lips, and—

A loud _bang_ flared through the air. The two collapsed, Sakura stilled grasping him by the cheeks. His eyes faded quickly, the illumination that was once there dissipated, and the soft luscious skin that she felt became hard and cold with thick liquid. There was blood pouring out of the middle of his forehead through a hole.

"No, no! Syaoran, no!" she screamed. "Syaoran, no!" at the top of her lungs she screamed. She's lost him once, she didn't want to lose him again. "Please," she pleaded, "don't go, not again." Sakura felt a tug from behind her and suddenly she was being dragged away from the lifeless body. "Syaoran!" she screamed one last time.

"Snap out of it, Sakura!"

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed it. Of course, there is more to come.<br>But, I'm in the midst of a midterm exam week, so I don't know when I'll be posting the next chapter.  
>Probaby within the next 2 weeks.<strong>


	2. Syaoran, He's Crying For Help

**Summary: **Since the bridge incident, nothing's been the same. The creatures are getting more broad, the sunlight is lessening, trust is falling, hope is at brink, and sanity is corrupted. Not only is Sakura in a fight to save herself, but also a fight to save the person she loves. It's almost too late.

**a/n: **Here you go. A bit shorter than usual. Corrections (spelling/grammer) will be made after the next chapter is posted.

**Genre:** Romance, Tragic, Survival, Horror

**Disclaimer:** Man if only I did…

**Rating:** T – Violence

**Age Change:  
><strong>Syaoran – 16  
>Sakura – 14<p>

**Tagline:** _The conclusion to how it all ends—is how it all began._

**Through Hope and Sanity  
><strong>By: Shinigami 42-42-564  
>…<strong>Chapter Two…<br>**Syaoran, He's Crying For Help

A beautiful field of valley stretched across my view and even further down the horizon; Cherry Blossom trees raced in lines fluttering pink pedals around like a whirlwind. There was no sun, but the _sky_ was still bright and laminated the beautiful grass as if it were.

The little dog that I followed barked. It's tail wagged, eager for me to keep following it. I did. We marched across the field of tall flowers. Butterflies flapped heavily around us as we trailed closer to the cherry blossom trees.

When we finally reached one, the dog scampered happily around a padded patch of grass. On the patch of grass, was a petite body. The arms crossed by the hips and a large hay hat covering the face. The dog pounced on the body and the person giggled.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," she said. The girl lifted her hat and pair green eyes looked directly at me. She smiled and instantly I smiled back. Her light brown hair was as luscious as the pedals that flew around me and her skin looked silky smooth.

"Sakura!" I said.

She only laughed. "Silly, I'm not Sakura."

**Through Hope and Sanity**

"Sakura, wake up!"

Sakura woke with a start. The sound of a high pitched squeal of breaks burned her ears as if they were on fire. She rose from the chest of a broad man and rubbed her eyes. She then felt a jab behind her that made her jump with her own high-pitched squeal.

"Wake up, monster," said a tall man with dark black hair. His eyes leered evil and the intent of kill.

"I'm not a monster, Oniichan!" she stuck her tongue out at the man and turned to the man she was sleeping on. "Daddy, he's doing it again!"

The dad sighed. "Touya, come on now. Get the luggage, we're here."

Touya laughed with a sigh. "I don't see why we moved in the first place." He got up and started digging in the compartments above.

"Hey now, we moved because—"

"I'm sorry, dear," said a woman with beautiful grey to blue hair. Her eyes sparkled clear and was so vivid that it made Sakura's eyes seemed dump.

"Nah," said Touya. "I was just kidding mom. Here, catch this—monster." He tossed a small suitcase on Sakura and she caught it, but dropped it instantly.

"_Itai!_ It's too heavy!" she cried.

"Just carry it."

Unwillingly, Sakura straddled it the best into her arms.

"You can roll it, you know."

Sakura set it down and pulled on a handle that extended up to her shoulders. "Ah, I knew that."

The family made their way to the front of the train and the dad flashed his wallet to the woman standing near exit.

"Fujitaka and Nadeshiko Kinomoto-sama?" The two nodded. "Welcome to Tomoeda."

When they got off the train, the station was packed with many people getting in and out. But what scared Sakura the most was how tall everyone was. They were nearly as tall as her brother. After a minute later of organizing suitcases and searching at a map, Touya dipped down to Sakura's level with an eerie smile and said,

"Don't get lost now. They might call the police if they see a monster walking around."

Sakura's ears flared up and she balled her fists. "I'm not a monster!" she yelled back.

"Whatever, just don't get lost."

**Through Hope and Sanity**

The warm blood turned cold; before she was able to do anything else, two arms grappled around her and picked her up off her knees.

"No, let me go!" cried Sakura. "Syaoran!"

Two shot-like bangs rung in her ears and dropped her head in a sudden state of wooziness. But it didn't last for long. Before she knew it, she was running in the opposite direction, hopping over logs, and avoiding branches, by the hand of Funata.

What had just happened? She didn't know. But behind her now, she heard continued gunfire's still flaring.

"F—Funata, let me go!" screamed Sakura. "That's Syaoran!"

Suddenly, Funata halted and looked back at Sakura as if she had gone mad. "No, Syaoran's back at the barn! Now let's go!"

No. _That_ Syaoran wasn't him. The one she just saw was. Right? Her mind was crossed. After sprinting across the field and reaching the barn doors, Tomoyo and Syaoran rushed up to them as Funata and Sakura dropped to pant.

"What happened?" exclaimed Tomoyo. "Where's Takashi-san and Yukito-san?"

Syaoran froze in place as he watched the two huffing with fear. A sweat fell from his eyes and an uneasy feeling wept over him. The pant got even harder, so did the fear that arouse into his temple.

"Are you ready, kid?" said Funata directing the question to Syaoran. "Let's hope you stay as calm as the first time you saw them."

"W—wait, what are we doing?" exclaimed Syaoran.

"Ketsuui," said Funata. Syaoran questioned. "You're knife, get it!"

Syaoran darted up the next level.

"They're coming!" yelled Tomoyo.

Funata and Sakura looked off into the distance and saw Takashi and Yukito sprinting back. "Quick, Sakura, Tomoyo, head up to the balcony level and hide in the corner," said Funata. Sakura didn't move until Tomoyo took her hand and darted off towards the ladder.

Syaoran back down and unsheathed his blade. Beyond Takashi and Yukito, he could see a horde of ten, maybe even twenty, hasty figures chasing them down. His heart began to pound, his legs were weak, his hands started to get numb. He fumbled his knife, but managed to get a grip on it.

When the two arrived, they immediately closed the barn doors. "Tomoyo," Takashi shouted, "Tell us _when_ from the roof door. Funata, check the back."

Yukito rushed over to his area and began to stuff things into his bag and shouldered it. "Funata-san, here." He tossed Funata a remote with buttons on it.

Funata caught it smoothly and said, "The back's clear. Everyone get in the middle. Tomoyo, your call!"

"Now!" yelled Tomoyo and she covered herself over Sakura. The rest hurdled towards the side into a haystack.

Moments later, the ground shook, and a loud echoing explosive noise flared. Screams yelped from the outside and cried as a blast of heat seeped through the wooden walls of the barn. When the explosions died down, Takashi came out of the hay cover and said,

"I'm amazed you found that many explosives."

"Gotta learn how to scavenger nowadays," replied Funata.

Yukito and Syaoran came out after them. "W—what were they?" wondered Syaoran, panicked.

"Creatures that we're trying to avoid," answered Yukito. "Don't worry; you'll get use to them."

"W—what are they, zombies?"

"Freaks for now."

"Tomoyo, Sakura!" Funata called out.

"Tomoyo!" screamed Sakura. Then a high-pitched octave rang as Tomoyo was suddenly being dragged out from the roof door.

"Help!" she screamed.

"Damnit, Tomoyo!" Funata quickly sprinted up the ladder with a pistol in hand and Yukito and Takashi both made their way outside the front door.

Syaoran, clueless on how to act, followed Funata up as she jumped through the barn's roof opening. "Are you okay?" he asked Sakura.

Sakura, in fear, only stared.

Without being given a reply, Syaoran made his way through the open door as fast as he could.

By the time he had gotten out, Funata had already pulled Tomoyo free from the hideous thing that pulled Tomoyo out. The skin, even under the moon, one could tell that it was burnt. Blood smear from every vein was wet and droopy. It breathed as if it were tired from attacking. Just as it cried a screech, Funata tossed Tomoyo to Syaoran and charged the creature. With force, she took a boot to its chest and it fell off the roof. From there, Takashi and Yukito shot it dead.

"Are you okay?" Syaoran asked.

Tomoyo nodded and clutched him, digging her face into his chest.

From behind, Sakura saw the picture of Syaoran grasping Tomoyo through the roof door. Though she didn't like to admit it, a sudden spark of jealousy hit her. Something in her told her that, that was supposed to be her in his arms—but then again, something told her that, that wasn't even the same Syaoran she once knew. It wasn't that he forgot his memory, it was something else.

When Tomoyo let go, Syaoran peered out into the distance. The explosion left small patches of fire. The ground was shaken up and dirt piled over blood as blood spilled over dead bodies. Syaoran felt gurgitation within his stomach and nearly puked.

They gathered inside the barn on the bottom level once again. All were sweating and still in near dismay of the event. Rather sudden, but it was something they had prepared for and were used to by now—all but Syaoran that is.

Yukito stared at Syaoran and said, "Now you saw them."

Syaoran glowered and stared down at his own feet. "I'm sure asking, once again, what they were wouldn't help me?"

"Trust us," said Funata, "Our knowledge of them is nearly as slim as yours. All we know is that we have to avoid them—or else they'll kill us."

"So far it can only be hypothesized about how they turned up the way they are. Nothing's truly been proven . . . yet," said Yukito.

The group then turned to Sakura, who looked just as depressed as she had always been since the bridge accident—maybe even more. It didn't matter what she thought, what she said, what she wanted; it was a fact that her actions had caused the group trouble and she knew it. Glowering down at the hay floor, and rubbing one arm with the other, she took a step back and mumbled words that were too soft to hear.

"What's up, Sakura-chan?" asked Takashi.

Sakura stumbled on her own feet as she stumbled in her words. "I heard him . . . I heard _him_!"

The group looked at each other, and then at Syaoran who was now getting used to getting weird looks from everyone else.

"What do you mean?" asked Funata.

Sakura scuffed her head with both her hands and stared at Syaoran as if she was surprised to see him there. "Syaoran, he's crying for help!"


	3. Fine, But I'm Not A Monster

**Summary: **Since the bridge incident, nothing's been the same. The creatures are getting more broad, the sunlight is lessening, trust is falling, hope is at brink, and sanity is corrupted. Not only is Sakura in a fight to save herself, but also a fight to save the person she loves. It's almost too late.

**a/n: **Hey guys, this chapter is actually a LOT shorter than my usual chapters, but I hope you guys enjoy—and don't forget to have a wonderful Christmas and New Years. The next chapter probably won't be uploaded until after New Years.

**Genre:** Romance, Tragic, Survival, Horror

**Disclaimer:** Man if only I did…

**Rating:** T – Violence

**Age Change:  
><strong>Syaoran – 16  
>Sakura – 14<p>

**Tagline:** _The conclusion to how it all ends—is how it all began._

**Through Hope and Sanity  
><strong>By: Shinigami 42-42-564  
>…<strong>Chapter Three…<br>**Fine, But I'm Not A Monster

"Who are you then?" I asked. The dog barked and jumped at my feet with its tongue hanging out. I bent down to pet it and it licked my fingers. Its eyes sparked a bit brighter than I remembered seeing it last; I didn't know why that caught my attention though. "If you're not Sakura." I referred back to the girl.

She took off her sun hat and set it on her lap as she backed up against the tree with a smile. She said, "You tell me, you created me."

I lowered my brows. "Not this again," I replied back.

The girl softly giggled with a hand over her mouth—the same giggle that Sakura always had. "I'm just kidding."

"You are?"

"Not really," she shrugged. "You should remember my name . . . no? Let me remind you then: Sa—ni—ty—chan, right?"

My heart throbbed. What? I remembered. A sweat started to trickle down the side of my temple. I didn't know how to reply to this. Sanity . . . Sakura. But did I really create her? Why was she talking just like how—

"Madness . . ." I said in a low voice.

Clapping came from behind the tree. Sanity smiled at giggled just like Sakura once again. Just when I thought things couldn't get any more weird, Madness came out from behind the tree, hands clasped together, giving me an evil smile as always—maybe even a bit softer. Still, it didn't make me feel any better.

"Great job, Syaoran-chan," he said. The dog barked and went over to Madness, who then picked it up and started to pet it. "Glad I was able to bring you in here before it was too late."

My eyes widened, "What do you mean?" I asked. His smile still bugged the living hell out of me.

Madness sighed, "Should we tell him?" he said staring down at Sanity.

Sanity laughed softly, looked at Madness, and back at me, "Why not?" she said. "But sit down, it'll be a while."

**Through Hope and Sanity**

"Sakura-chan," said Funata to break the silence, "what are you talking about?"

"What do you mean _what am I talking about?_ He's crying for help! We have to save him!" exclaimed Sakura. She looked around as if she was expecting someone to back her up.

"Umm," Tomoyo stepped up, "Sakura-chan, I think you're hearing it all wrong."

Sakura stared at Tomoyo for a moment, then shook her head. "No!"

A grief sigh came from Funata and Takashi and Syaoran looked at each other. Just then, Yukito began to make his way outside.

"Yukito-san?" Takashi followed with his rifle in hand. The rest looked at each other and then followed out.

When they got out under the moonlight, Yukito was taking the butt of a rifle and bashing the skull of the creature that they had just killed in the attempt to save Tomoyo. Sakura and Tomoyo both looked away at the horrid site, Syaoran heaved puking motions and Funata said,

"Are you mad?"

After one more blow to the head, there was a _crack_ and Takashi had to look away in almost disgust. Yukito dug out a pocket knife from his bag and started to make incisions into the creature's skull. Once made, he pulled open a skin flap, pulled out a piece of the skull he had broken, and began to cut a small piece of the brain.

"Yukito-san—"

"You're brother," said Yukito interrupting Takashi, "he was my test subject." Takashi was silent. "That's why he disappeared without any information given out. He was turning, so he volunteered himself for me to experiment on him. He asked me to promise to not tell you about it . . . but promises mean nothing now." Takashi still didn't say a thing. "I'm expecting you to grab me and toss me around now." Yukito then took out a capsule and stuffed it full of brain—still blood-filled.

"I kind of figured," said Takashi, "but why would I toss you around? If it was his decision, then I'm glad he chose to use his life to help others."

Yukito was silent for a moment. "He was a fresh experiment. This one seems to be pretty old. I'm not really asking you guys to follow . . . but you know me, I just can't pass up this opportunity." The group looked at each other. "The next closest big city around here is Asaka. I need to go to their hospital and use their scans on this piece of brain. The only problem is: it's a couple days detour from the closest route to the mountains—and I know how much you really want to get there."

"Are you telling us to split up?" exclaimed Funata.

"I'm not telling you guys anything. But this is what it's at. You still have your objectives and I still have mine. My experiment means just as much to me as your family does to you."

"But Yukito-san," said Tomoyo, "In order to read the brain, doesn't it have to be alive?"

"It does, but I can use dead brain cells to determine the capacity usage—it's like telling how old a fossil is. I can't believe I'm saying this, but if I'm lucky, I can capture a live one and get even more information."

"Yukito-san, please, I know your experiment is important, but we can't split, we have to stay together," said Takashi.

"And who knows if the Asaka hospital has the equipments you need!" bellowed Funata.

"It does," said Yukito, "I've studied there before and so I know exactly where it is."

"You're crazy!"

"What's the point of me living if I can't take my opportunities to do what I can for the people who're still alive? What are you going to do, Funata-san, when you reach the mountains? Your family is alive, great, are you going to be kept in an underground society living in an ungoverned miniature world? What if they're not alive? Are you going to just weep and give up on life?"

For the first time ever since meeting her, Sakura could see tears build up in Funata.

"Don't say that," warned Funata.

"I'm just pointing out your possibilities—"

Funata pulled out her pistol from its case and pointed it straight at Yukito, who stood up with a jump. "Shut up or else I'll make the possibilities of you reaching that hospital a _zero_!"

"Funata-nee!" Sakura jumped to her side and wrapped her arms around Funata's waist, "Don't!"

Syaoran took a step back, guarding himself and Tomoyo from the tension that had just erupted. Just as Syaoran thought that things couldn't have gotten worst, Takashi armed his rifle and aimed it right at Funata.

"Funata-san, please lower your weapon," he ordered—nicely.

Funata, who was still in tears, said, "I know my family's alive, I know it! Don't you _dare_ even mention of the possibility of them being dead or I'll kill you!" she cocked her gun, which only made Takashi give even more pressure into his trigger.

"Funata-san, drop the gun right now!" he ordered again—not so nicely.

"Pull the trigger if you want," said Yukito. "But right now you're letting your emotions of your family get to you. You're losing your state of mind—pointing a gun at me like that—and your focus is becoming a blur. Your emotional aggravation is signs of a loss of sanity, and from my studies that I have yet to confirm completely, you're about to turn. Your arm's getting heavy; you can feel your blood thickening, just like them. Right now you're even getting sensitive to the moons light."

Funata could feel her arm getting heavy. Her skin started to burn and the blood within her seemed to slow down. Her heart began to beat even faster and her head started to ache. She cringed her teeth; her body began to feel so weak that she started to shake.

"Takashi!" yelled Yukito.

At the order, Takashi quickly dropped his weapon, used a maneuver to take away Funata's gun and grappled her around the back. Sakura screamed as she saw Takashi easily take down Funata. Syaoran and Tomoyo were just in as much shock to see what was going on.

Syaoran didn't know what to do. The look that he saw on Sakura's face was nothing but fear. Tomoyo's grip on his arm tightened just enough to bleed. As things got softer, he thought that Takashi would let her go, but instead, he swung the pistol to the back of her head and knocked her out cold. As the two girls screamed, Syaoran could do nothing but look at the unconscious body of Funata lying as if she was one of those creatures that had been killed.

"Funata-nee!" cried Sakura. Her tears shredded under the moon.

**Through Hope and Sanity**

It was almost midnight when Sakura decided to get up from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes and made her way out to the kitchen area where boxes of silverware were still unopened. Grabbing a plastic cup from an open bag set on the kitchen table, Sakura dug into her fridge, letting the light from within shrink her pupils. She grabbed a juice carton and poured some apple juice into her cup. She drank it on the spot and sighed with a happy satisfying gasp. When she closed the fridge door, she felt a soft, but hard, hit to the top of her temple, making her drop the cup and yell aloud.

The lights turned on and she saw Touya smacking a roll of paper towels against the palm of his hand. "Oh I'm sorry, I thought it was a monster raiding our fridge . . . oh wait, never mind, it is one." He bonked her on the head once again.

"That hurts!" she yelled.

Touya sighed. "What are you doing here anyway?" he asked. "You should be asleep."

"I got thirsty; you have a problem with that?"

"Careful, you might wet the bed again."

"I will not! And I don't wet the bed!"

"Anymore," Touya joked.

Sakura stuck her tongue out and taunted her older brother.

"Go back to bed, you start school in the morning," he insisted.

Instead, Sakura ran to the living room and jumped onto the couch and hugged a pillow in her chest. "I'm scared. I hate moving like this."

Touya sighed, "Yeah, I know. But we have to in order for mom to keep doing well in her job."

"Don't you hate it too, going to a new school all the time? We can't even make friends to keep."

Nodding he replied with, "Of course I do, don't get me wrong . . . but things are the way they are." He glared down at Sakura who was still hugging the pillow. "Go to sleep now, Monster. You really have to now."

Sakura puffed her cheeks and grumbled, "Fine, but I'm not a monster!" and marched off back to bed.

* * *

><p><strong>I really love everyone's comments about my stories being "different" and "not cliche"<br>I know I've said it before, but that's what I aim for, and I'm glad that you're all enjoying my stories so much.**


	4. His Right Eye

**Summary: **Since the bridge incident, nothing's been the same. The creatures are getting more broad, the sunlight is lessening, trust is falling, hope is at brink, and sanity is corrupted. Not only is Sakura in a fight to save herself, but also a fight to save the person she loves. It's almost too late.

**a/n: **I hope you don't get a headache reading this chapter. Oh and if you've forgotten about the events in Biofreaks, I suggest recalling things.

**Genre:** Romance, Tragic, Survival, Horror**  
>Disclaimer:<strong> Man if only I did…**  
>Rating:<strong> T – Violence

**Age Change:**  
>Syaoran – 16<br>Sakura – 14

**Tagline:** _The conclusion to how it all ends—is how it all began._

**Through Hope and Sanity**  
>By: Shinigami 42-42-564<br>…**Chapter Four…**  
>His Right Eye<p>

When Funata woke up, she immediately felt her head and groaned. Her stomach panged as she tried to get up. To her side, Yukito was sitting cross-legged settling in front of a large haystack staring right at her as she struggled to get up.

After not being able to get up right away, Funata gave up and lied back down. "What happened?"

"The placebo effect," said Yukito.

"Placebo . . ."

"Your aggravation is what helped me stop you from killing me. It loss your own sanity and it allowed me to trick your mind into believing that you were turning into one of _them_."

Funata raised an arm and stared at it for a moment. "So I really wasn't turning then."

"No," replied Yukito, "you were."

"What do you mean?" Her calm heart started to jump once again as her surrounding suddenly turned black.

"In order to stop you from turning, Takashi had to knock you out so that you didn't lose your senses; and that's where my theory comes: Those who _turned_ are those who lost their sanity."

It was a minute of silence before Funata replied with, "Not the radiation?"

"I think the radiation aggravated things—maybe—it could easily be a combination of both."

"So you're saying that I didn't turn because I got knocked out, and that if Takashi hadn't done it, I would've been one of them?"

"Think of it as restarting your sanity. Doctors use a defibrillator to stop the heart so that it can restart into a normal heart rate—saving the person. Think of knocking yourself out as the defibrillator, restarting your brain, letting all of your madness run through and out, regaining your sense of sanity."

"But you said it was the placebo effect for me."

"Well . . . I used the placebo to hasten and enhance your mutation. The things I said were to make you lose sight and make you believe you were turning—and you were—even faster than usual. But don't worry; unless you want to go ballistic on me again, you're more than fine."

Funata signed, "And here I thought you were a nice guy that had someone save my life when in fact you actually nearly ended it. You really are a mad scientist, aren't you?"

"Forgive me," said Yukito, "but I do what I must to gather information. I'd thank you for being a part of my experiment, but I don't think you'd accept it." Funata shook her head and gave out another sigh. But this time, she was able to sit up. "And I think little Sakura-chan is right," Yukito continued. Funata quickly turned back to Yukito as if he had said something amazing. "Syaoran . . . I don't think that's him as well."

Funata widened her eyes and scrolled hundreds of things to say in her head that would've made sense in reply. But nothing came out better than, "What on Earth are you trying to say? That this Syaoran is some other soul controlling his body and the other one is dead? How is that even possible?"

"Multiple Personality Syndrome," said Yukito. Funata flinched back and stared down at the ground as if things made sense. "Back on the bridge, Syaoran lost it. He gave up hope and charged the creatures as if he gave up on life. But when he crashed to the floor due to your explosions, he knocked out. But his knockout was far more than what Takashi had done to you. Instead of _him_ coming back to his senses, another personality within him took over whether it was accidentally or purposely."

"You're saying that there are two Syaoran's in his body?"

"Could be more, who knows. It's not like multiple personality is something new—you were a part of the military, you should've been trained at least a little bit of psychology."

"Yes, I know what MPS is, but to think that Syaoran has it . . ."

"It's a rare syndrome, but it's still a natural syndrome. I know that you're probably thinking we could just knock him out again and hope he returns, but it doesn't work like that. His personalities, however many there are, would have to communicate with each other. You know Sybil? She was able to communicate and switch her personalities freely. Was there ever a time, when you were with Syaoran, that he's acted different?"

Funata had to think for a moment, but then she remembered, "When I met Syaoran . . . there was this time when he nearly strangled Sakura. But he managed to stop. If what you're saying is true, then what about before I met them? How could they have not gone crazy?"

"They had each other," replied Yukito. "Their goal in life was to be with each other am I correct? But this brings me to my next case: Sakura. Sakura, somehow, seems to know that the Syaoran _isn't_ Syaoran. So without the Syaoran that she wants—"

"She could lose herself . . ."

"And if she does lose her sanity . . . she'll turn."

Funata bit her lips. She couldn't even come to imagine what things would be like if Sakura were to ever become one of those creatures. Her entire hopes and goals in life were to be together with Syaoran. But if Yukito's theories were true, and every bit of evidence was starting to lead to it being true, then Sakura would indeed lose it. This was something that Funata didn't want to see.

"I think there was an involuntary switch at the base on Chiba. Remember, before you left, there was a body found in his room. It wasn't suicide; it was Syaoran who killed him . . . or a personality _of_ Syaoran. I have the tape, but its back in Chiba."

"You know, to think that losing yourself is what makes you turn into one of these things is crazy; and the fact that you brought up Syaoran having one of the _rarest_ syndromes is also just farfetched. But nothing points to it saying that it can't be true. When Syaoran first saw the things, he was calm and poised. But this Syaoran looked almost scared. If this Syaoran ends up being a chicken, he'd turn . . . and our hopes of seeing the actual Syaoran would be gone. It's amazing really . . . I mean, did millions of people really lose it?"

"This was World War Three. Of course they would, with the amount of radiation spread, one loss of sanity and mutation could spread just as fast as the zombie movies you watch. But, these are nothing but _theories_ still. That's why I need to get to Asaka . . . and I would need to bring Syaoran with me. Everything would be clear if I can just do what I need to do."

There was sudden silence once again. So much was said, so much was explained. Though all of it was hard to digest, it was the truth whether it made sense or not. Turning into a freak because you lost sanity? Syaoran having multiple personality?

"You knocked me out. I'm back to normal. Let's say Syaoran's personality _switches_ and be gets to be himself again . . . will he be okay? Since his new personality is what's supposedly saving him?"

"It'll all be answered when I do my tests. Another reason why I need to do these tests is because of the brain capacity. I've told Syaoran this already. Those _freaks_, they're not dumb. In fact, they're smart—they're supers. Why they're like this is only a theory, that's why I have to connect everything that I've said, everything that I've thought of, every theory I've came up with, it can all be done in Asaka. If I can, this will be _the_ information the world is looking for."

Funata was silent for a moment. "Should we tell everyone else?"

Yukito slowly shook his head. "Right now, everyone just needs to focus on being alive and their own goals. If Sakura knows, she'll get wrestles and will only cause trouble. But you know how important Asaka is now . . . it's your decision now. Do you want to come with, or split up? The groups are pre-formed already if you split up, and I know that you know that already. Syaoran and Takashi would have to come with me, Sakura and Tomoyo would have to go with you."

Funata shook her head. All the information given was just too much for her to handle. It was like she wanted to close her eyes and knock out once again and wake up in a simpler world; but that wasn't going to happen.

"Give me some time to think about this . . ." she said.

"Think fast. It's already been a couple hours since day broke."

Moving to another more softer subject, Funata said, "Where is everyone?"

"Outside," said Yukito, "scavenging."

The doors opened when Funata managed to muscle her way up and out. The sun was bright, blanketing light amongst the dead as if there was nothing but beauty to be seen. _Maybe this was beauty,_ thought Funata. A pile of living bodies would've been a nightmare, and no piles of anything would've been a miracle.

Twenty meters out, Syaoran and Takashi were picking small knives, wrenches, cards, anything they could from one pile of bodies. Thirty clicks to the left Sakura and Tomoyo were doing the same. Funata looked back and saw Yukito shoulder his backpack and then gave her a look as if to tell her to hurry her decision.

The decision was tough. There was no way of swaying Yukito out of his path. If she decided to stick with Yukito and keep the group together, everyone would be much safer. But it would take days, maybe even weeks longer to get to the mountains where her family was. She had been traveling to find her sister, Naminé, ever since her base had been overrun by the monsters four months after everything had begun. It took her two months just to travel back to Tomoeda, only to find out that she was no more.

A lot has happened within the two and a half weeks of meeting Syaoran and Sakura—so much more than the events of her base being overrun. It seemed to have bedazzled her.

Putting a hand on her holstered pistol, she conjured the other option: to split. More dangerous, but she would be able to get to the mountains a lot sooner. Since the groups are figuratively premade already—with Sakura and Tomoyo in hers—if she were to make it to the mountains safely, there would be shelter for Sakura and Tomoyo, whether she found her parents or not. A wrenching feeling ached her stomach at the "or not" statement of her parents. Sakura, Tomoyo, and she would be safe until Yukito and the others return.

All of her thinking was _if_ her home wasn't already a hellhole and filled with creatures.

The decision—

"Good morning, Funata-nee," said Sakura interrupting her thoughts. She held a pistol by the barrel and handed it to Funata. "There was a police who still had his gun."

Funata took it and checked the magazine—full. "Thank you, Sakura-chan," she said sincerely.

Then Tomoyo came to her side. "Nothing much," she said.

"A few miscellaneous," said Takashi as he and Syaoran came back and joined in.

Sakura leered at Syaoran, who quickly learned that making eye contact for too long would make his feeling worst, so he turned away. Sakura looked at her feet.

Seeing the tension, Funata called Yukito forward. He came.

"Look guys—" Funata and Yukito explained what they had discussed about splitting up. The only thing they didn't mention was Syaoran's proposed multiple personalities. "—I'm not the biggest fan. But Yukito and I are two different people on two different missions here. I'm sorry . . . if it seems like you kids are caught in the middle of things."

Silence.

"I guess we're serious about this," said Takashi scratching his head.

Yukito nodded. "If Funata decides to split up, the groups have already been made due to the circumstances: With me would be you and Syaoran. The girls would go with Funata."

Tomoyo and Sakura stared at each other, and then Sakura quickly beamed her eyes over at Syaoran who had his eyes set on Yukito.

"Like I said yesterday, those equipment's I need, they are key. I need Takashi for muscle and protection, and Syaoran . . . I'll be able to diagnose you. I'm sorry to say this—again—but you are a perfect test subject for me right now. I need your help in my research. Girls once you make it to the mountains, you'll be safe.

Silence broke again. Everyone stared at one another, wondering what the other is wondering. Syaoran took a long hard stare at Sakura, and then before she was able to see it, he turned to Yukito.

"I agree." The girls looked at him. "It's for my own benefit as well. If I can help Yukito _and_ find out my amnesia, maybe regain some memory then I'll do it.

Yukito and Funata stared at one another, thinking the same thing. If Yukito was right, this Syaoran _has_ no memories to regain.

"Plus," continued Syaoran. He turned to Sakura. "I know I'm causing you pain right now. So I think it'd be best if I stayed away from you. Yukito and Funata are right. You two need to get to safety as fast as possible."

The words struck Sakura like a knife to the back. But only the knife wasn't intended to kill, just to keep her guessing when it'll hurt her. She didn't feel the most comfort with Syaoran anymore, but she also didn't want to keep Syaoran out of her sight. She turned to the floor with nothing to say.

Yukito broke in once again, "Then it's decided." The rest of the group was still quiet. "We leave now. There the Arakawa River up north, some miles away. That's the split. We have to take that river upstream to the west over to Asaka. You girls will have to continue on North."

Funata sighed. "And . . . we'll have to find a vehicle too. The distance for us is nearly twenty times longer than the distance to Asaka."

After a moment of silence with solemn and depressing stared to one another, they were off—traveling together for the very last time before they have to go their own separate ways.

Syaoran put a hand on Sakura's shoulder. Surprisingly she didn't flinch. "Be careful, okay?"

Before replying, Sakura slowly slid his hand off her shoulder. "Don't say your good-byes to me yet. We still have quite a while to go before the split."

**Through Hope and Sanity**

"Hello, Sakura-chan!" said a boy with frisky black hair. "Can I sit next to you?"

Sakura nodded with her chopsticks in her mouth. "Hello, Imoto-san."

"How are—"

The table at lunch shook. Several crashing sounds of glass echoed from the kitchen and some people were screaming. After a few moments, what was once a loud energetic place was now quiet. Everyone looked at each other all wondering the same thing: what just happened? Just as Sakura was about to bypass the odd event and eat another piece of her meal, the ground shook, this time harder than the table.

A small panic rose.

This time the ground shook even harder—enough to slide trays across the tables and onto the floor.

"Earthquake?" someone yelled.

The ground didn't stop shaking, but it calmed just enough to walk without falling over. Teachers started to evacuate students out of the cafeteria. Sakura didn't know what was going on, everything happened so fast. One moment she's eating, the next minute everything's in chaos.

"Sakura-chan, come on, let's go!" yelled Imoto as he reached out to Sakura.

Sakura reached out for him too, but fell to the floor as someone from behind bumped into her through panic. When she looked up, Imoto was gone. Unable to climb to her feet, she crawled to the nearest window ledge she could and pulled herself up. She looked out the window and saw a frightening scene: clouds of brown and black dust that touched the sky rushing towards her. As it came closer, it blocked out the sun and the blue sky; from a distance, people were tripping and being buried alive—swallowed. Fear struck Sakura and two seconds before it reached the building, Sakura ducked under the window.

One second before it reached the building, she heard her name being called and saw Imoto standing two feet in front of her with a hand out for her. She wanted to scream, she wanted to yell at him to get down and duck, get away from the window, anything.

After the sound of shattering glasses followed by a barbaric howling wind, Imoto disappeared—covered in brown and black dust that began to fill the room like pouring water into a tank. Another second later, Imoto reappeared, but this time on the floor lying next to the crouched Sakura, face painted in blood with a shard of glass in the socket of his right eye.


	5. And the Person I Cherish Most

**Summary: **Since the bridge incident, nothing's been the same. The creatures are getting more broad, the sunlight is lessening, trust is falling, hope is at brink, and sanity is corrupted. Not only is Sakura in a fight to save herself, but also a fight to save the person she loves. It's almost too late.

**a/n: **A chapter a bit shorter than usual. Enjoy!

**Genre:** Romance, Tragic, Survival, Horror  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> Man if only I did…  
><strong>Rating:<strong> T – Violence

**Age Change:**  
>Syaoran – 16<br>Sakura – 14

**Tagline:** _The conclusion to how it all ends—is how it all began._

**Through Hope and Sanity  
><strong>By: Shinigami 42-42-564  
>…<strong>Chapter Five…<br>**And the Person I Cherish Most

Sakura sat in the back seat with Tomoyo while Funata drove. After the split, they had managed to found a truck—sage colored Hummer—not too far from the border. Funata hotwired it and they were off. Because a lot of the main roads were blocked, they had to drive on terrain for the most part. But as long as they didn't run into trouble, the bumpy ride was worth it.

Staring outside, watching semi-dead trees pass reminded Sakura of watching Syaoran and the others pass once they got on their boat, an almost lifeless feeling, half caring for their departure while the other half was nothing. She didn't know quite exactly how to feel. It was all up in the midst of everything that had happened to her. When she thought about it, it really hasn't even been long since she left Tomoeda . . . when she thought about it even more, it really hasn't even been long since she _moved_ to Tomoeda.

Suddenly she started to miss her family—her mom, her dad . . . her brother. Her brother was just like any big brother that had a baby sister: treated her like a mess, but in a loving caring way. She missed his cruel jokes, his pushes, the way he pushed her around. After NHE and until now, she'd always been relying on Syaoran, needing no one else, accepting everything that has happened and moving on with the best of her capability, but now she felt as if she lost everything. Syaoran was gone . . . her family was gone . . . she wanted one of them back.

_Pathetic_, she thought.

The ride was quiet. An hour later, Funata pulled into a gas station in a suburb part of a town—Sakura didn't pay any attention to where they were. _Broken down and rotten_ was not needed to describe something the entire world already was.

"We have to get gas," said Funata.

"Is that even possible?" asked Tomoyo.

Sakura didn't care to take part of any conversation.

"The gas stations are operated from inside. There should be some cash in the register. I'll be back."

"Wouldn't cash be looted from all the mess that happened?"

Funata, halfway to the gas station doors turned and said, "Money would be the _last_ thing on anyone's mind." With that said she pulled out her pistol from the side and slowly crept into the gas station store like a spy.

Tomoyo went around to the gas tank and popped it open and stuck the gas nozzle in. A few minutes later, Funata rushed out with a grin on her face holding a wad of cash in her hands.

"Told ya," she said. "Enough for a full tank."

"I'm assuming that's still not enough to get us where we need to go."

"Probably not, but if you want to walk their, be my guess." Funata slowly slipped in the cash into the gas machine. Once she was done, she said, "I'll go back inside and find out how to operate it. I'll look for something to eat or drink too." Tomoyo nodded.

A few minutes after Funata went back in; Tomoyo heard the gas starting to run. A smile crossed her face. Just then, the back door opened and Sakura took a step out. The two exchanged glances and Tomoyo smiled again.

"Might as well stretch your legs," she said.

Sakura nodded but didn't say anything. While Tomoyo watched the gas pump, Sakura made her way to the back of the truck and leaned against it. In front of her was a vast field where the ground touched the sky and nothing else. Though it probably never used to be, it was like a wasteland. She could easily imagine tumbleweeds rolling across through the distance.

Just as Sakura finished that imagination, she thought back to Syaoran and the others—how they were doing. Were they doing fine? Did they run into trouble? Are they okay? Most of all . . . would they ever see each other again? The thought of never seeing Syaoran again ran shivers down her body. Just as she was accumulating the thought of what _would_ happen if she never saw them . . . _him_ . . . again, a small black figure broke her thought.

From the distance, it looked like a stick figure. The dry air made the figure wavy like what you see in a desert. Sakura leaned off the truck and took a few steps forward; squinting to see what it was she was seeing exactly. A person? Another survivor?

Without thinking about it, Sakura held her hand up high and started waving trying to get the person's attention. When the figure twitched as if it saw Sakura, it began getting larger—coming closer. Surprisingly for the first time in a long time, a smile crossed Sakura's face. She continued to wave.

"Hey! Over here! We're—over . . . here . . ." she trailed off. The person started running . . . not, not running, sprinting over. Fifty yards away, she saw the figure clearly: it was one of _them_. Her eyes widened, her heart began to beat and her throat sank. She screamed just as the monster freak did as she ducked to the side and around the truck, the freak tackled the back of the trunk. Sakura quickly opened the backseat door and crawled inside, locking her side.

Tomoyo, who quickly saw it, ran to the other side and entered through the passenger side door, locking all the doors with a push of a button. The two girls screamed and back up against one side of the truck as the freak—who was a middle-aged man with dark black hair—banged against the windows, spurting dry blood onto the window. Then it ran around back to the other side. Sakura and Tomoyo quickly slid over to the driver side and pressed their backs against the door, screaming still as the freak tried breaking through the window and opening the door.

Just as it screamed one last time, two hands grappled it from the back and twisted its head. Even from inside, the girls could hear the _crack_. When the creature fell, Funata was standing panting as if that one move took a lot of energy from her.

Sakura and Tomoyo finally came to a calm, heart still rapidly beating. The two exited from their doors and made their way around to the body that had just dropped. The body was burning as if it was being cooked, but that wasn't what caught their attention. They all stared at each other calmly and were all thinking the same thing.

"But it's impossible," exclaimed Tomoyo. "How? It's bright out!"

Sakura stayed quiet, Funata had no answers other then, "They must be getting used to the light . . ."

Tomoyo shook her head, "What then? The daytime's the only time we're actually safe. Now that they can come out . . . _what_?" Tomoyo was in complete disbelief. Sakura didn't know what to think.

"Come on," said Funata, "We have to get going_ now_." They all got back into the truck again after Funata pulled the gas nozzle out and just left it hanging.

Now the truck was the only place where Sakura felt secured and safe. The monsters getting used to the light? It was something Sakura hoped never happened. By looking at Funata while she drove, Sakura and Tomoyo could tell that she was as in as much of disbelief as them—maybe even more. Why wouldn't they? The time they thought they'd feel safe is now shrinking away.

_Would we really have to handle them in the daylight too?_ thought Sakura.

**Through Hope and Sanity**

The day passed by quickly—a lot quicker than they had imagined: only five hours of daylight. The sun was peeking over the horizon to the west and illuminating a grounded empty outskirts into a gold color.

"Should we keep driving?" Tomoyo asked.

"No, the lights will give us attention. We're going to have to park and rest up," said Funata.

"But where? We're in the middle of nowhere."

Funata kept quiet and continued driving. They were in the middle of nowhere. If Sakura were to compare it to something, it'd be equivalent to an old American cartoon show she once watched: Courage the Cowardly Dog. The wasteland they lived in was exactly the type of terrain they were driving in. Suddenly Funata came to a stop, turned off the engine, turned off the lights, and reclined her chair so low that Sakura was forced to the other side.

"Get some rest, stay low, and no matter what you hear, do _not_ look out the window or show yourself."

Funata said all that as if she was irritated about everything. Sakura and Tomoyo both looked at each other and sighed. As Tomoyo reclined her seat low too, Sakura quickly and quietly jumped over the backseats to the trunk and laid there like a dead body.

The night was clear because they were in the middle of nowhere. Some stars lit the sky. But this moment only reminded Sakura of the time back when she was with Syaoran, before any of this happened. For than ever now, she wanted those moments back. She didn't want to know of these _things_ she didn't want to know of anyone else. She just wanted Syaoran, the person she cared so much and so deeply about. Her one and only.

She didn't want any of this.

_I, Kinomoto Sakura, and the person I cherish most, Li Syaoran, are the only ones alive on Earth,_ she wanted to say that so badly. But she couldn't.

"—and the person I cherish most . . ." she closed her eyes and fell asleep.


End file.
